I have personally helped large customers implement Fast Path DEDB restructures with near zero IMS application outage. This same capability is also available for IMS Full-function and HALDB databases. Please contact me if you have any questions.

IMS users that BMC works with on a regular basis do not want to take IMS outages for any reason. A common scheduled outage window task involves implementing database changes. Change complexity, size of databases, and number of databases needing change dictates outage duration. This outage can be many hours in duration. DBA’s are constantly being asked to limit the number of outages a year and to also limit the duration.

BMC can now address this painful and costly task via software innovation to restructure Full-function, HALDB, and DEDB databases while those databases are available online to IMS users. BMC Restructure for IMS contains this industry unique technology to reduce these scheduled IMS application outages for IMS database restructures from hours to minutes. What does this mean to your business? Additional revenue? Additional competitive advantage? Reduced costs?

Customers have recently been asking questions about how to request batch reporting within MAXM Database Advisor for IMS. This reporting can be done for all database objects in the IMS RECON from the RECON level in the Advisor navigation tree. Full-function and HALDB database objects use the Database History, Database Space, and Space Usage type reports. Fast Path DEDB database objects use the Area Performance & Area Space reports. The information being reported for Full-function and HALDB database objects is different from DEDB database objects hence batch reporting for DEDB database objects cannot be combined into a single report with Full-function and HALDB database objects.

If any requested batch generated report is larger than 4000 lines, then the report cannot be viewed in the Advisor console. If that is the case, then you will need to view the results in the generated data set via ISPF. The generated dataset name is specified in the BMCMXA340683I message that indicates the batch job completed successfully. In this case, you would need to use FTP, or another product that you use, to download the file to your PC before opening it in Excel. Once the generated report is in Excel it is very easy to manipulate and summarize the data to get information needed.

Let’s look at a specific example where you want to know the total database record counts for a specific set of database objects. The following procedure will step you through requesting batch reporting in the Advisor to quickly gain access to this information Use this procedure to access other batch report information and to do data analysis with an external solution such as Excel:

Step 3: Batch report initiation is indicated with a message in the Advisor Message pane.

Step 3.5: When Advisor completes the request a status message is issued in the Message pane. Note that a report dataset is generated and the data set name is indicated in the status message.

Step 4: If the requested report is less than 4000 lines then it can be viewed in the Advisor. If the requested report is more than 4000 lines then view the dataset referenced in Step 3.5 via ISPF.

Step 5: Select the generated DBHIST report for viewing.

Step 6: This is the raw database object information for the Database History batch report being viewed from the console. This means that the generated report is less than or equal to 4000 lines. Let’s export the data to Excel so that database object filtering and summation can be accomplished.